Ruins
by Queen of Nargles
Summary: Gale pays a visit to District 12 and witnesses Katniss comforting Peeta after he has an episode. Katniss/Peeta. One-shot.


_A/N: I've always wondered what Gale thought of Peeta's episodes and flashbacks. This just came out the blue. Hope you enjoy!_

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**Ruins**

By

Queen of Nargles

Gale Hawthrone stepped out of the steaming train carrying his heavy luggage on his shoulder. He held his crumpled tickets reading _District 12 _in his other hand. His coat was damp from the wet, winter weather. Even though the coat was horridly drenched, it still looked costly.

Gale had to admit. District 2 had changed him. He was no longer the boy from the Seam that hunted or fed his family. He no longer had a hunting partner either. His hunting partner never spoke to him anymore nor did he. In many ways, he missed her. He missed hunting with her and laughing with her.

It was precisely his hunting partner that urged him to visit. He hadn't seen her since she returned to Twelve and he moved to District 2. He wanted to talk to his best friend again, to know how she was doing. He wanted to know if she was coping well with the death of her sister, and even though he did not want to admit it, Gale wanted to see if her burned body had improved. He even wanted to know how the baker boy was doing.

His heavy boots trudged him forward. Victor's Village was not a long walk from the station.

* * *

Gale studied the door, his hand hovering over it. _What if she still hates me? She probably always sees Primrose burning when her eyes lay on me. _Taking all the courage he had left, he knocked softly on the door. He waited. He fidgeted nervously with the sleeves of his coat. A minute later, there still wasn't an answered. He knocked again, louder this time. Again there was no answer.

Slowly, knocking once more, Gale opened the door. "Katniss," he called. There was still no response.

Looking around, Gale was surprised to see her house was an utter mess. On the floor, lay a book and a few sketches thrown around it. Flour was scattered all around the kitchen's counter. Katniss's boots and jacket lay forgotten at the corner of the couch. It was not until he saw the shattered glass on the kitchen's floor that he said her name again.

"Katniss."

He started going up the stairs, alarmed. He took two steps at a time, blood pounding. What if she had hurt herself? What if something happened to her? He stopped at her door, closed. Gale let out a shaky breath and lifted his knuckle to knock before he heard a sob, a sob that did not sound like Katniss at all.

"Katniss," he whispered to the door.

Carefully, Gale pushed the door slightly so only a small creak was visible. He gaped inaudibly at the sight.

Peeta was crying on Katniss's shoulder. Gale had never heard Peeta make such horrid sounds. His cries were loud and full of feelings. He was clinging to Katniss as if she was his last breathe.

"Shh. It's ok, Peeta," she murmured, placing a kiss to his forehead. "It's not real. Not real."

Another sob escaped Peeta's lips. He buried his head deeper into Katniss's bear shoulder and she brought Peeta's head closer to her body. They were both sweating and Katniss's hair was down rather than in her usual braid. It wasn't until now that Gale realized that they were both naked under the covers.

"Nightmares," Peeta murmured. "It was horrible. I… Katniss, I…" He let out a small whimper.

"I'm here. I'm here, Peeta. I'm real. "

Gale could see her stroking his hair, placing slow, light kisses on his face, tugging his face to her chest. Gale heard Peeta let out a sigh. His breathing became even, and his body went lax onto Katniss's body. Katniss kissed his forehead again.

"I'm real," she repeated.

Gale knew. He knew what was between them was inedible. Katniss loved Peeta in ways not even she could describe. They were both so broken. They were both so dependent on each other.

Katniss shifted a bit and began to get out of bed when Peeta had returned to a deep slumber. Gale closed the door quickly. He didn't want her to know he was spying on them. Very quickly, he trudged down the stairs and sat on her couch, waiting for her.

* * *

Katniss didn't descend till much later. She stopped her movements when she saw him, her face full of shock.

"Gale," she whispered.

"Hey, Catnip."

She simply stared at him, unblinking. She still had a trace of awe written on her face. She was wearing nothing but a shirt that stopped below her mid-thigh. By the size, the shirt was obviously Peeta's. Her hair was now braided as usual.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

Gale swallowed thickly. "I came to see how you were doing."

Katniss shook her head. "Why didn't you knock? You could've called."

"I knocked earlier but you didn't answer."

Katniss's face turned beet red. She tucked a stray of hair behind her ear and wrapped her arms around her small frame. Gale laughed softly.

"So how _are _you doing, Catnip?" he asked.

"Fine, mostly," she answered shortly. She looked at her feet. "I heard you got a job at Two. Must be good, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is."

They had small talk. Katniss offered Gale some coffee and he gladly drank it. Katniss told him that District 12 was going back to normal and that she had begun to hunt again while Peeta baked. Greasy Sae had fed her daily in the first months but now her visits were vague. She no longer needed the old lady to take care of her. Dr. Aurelius still called to check up on Katniss's and Peeta's routines and that they weren't overdosing on their pills. Gale listened intently.

"How's Peeta?"

Katniss flinched at the sudden remark. "He's getting better. He doesn't think I'm a mutt anymore."

Gale chuckled. "Well that's good to hear."

"Katniss! Katniss!"

Katniss looked up the stairs alarmed. Peeta was coming down the stairs.

"Peeta?"

Peeta ran to her arms. She caught him and started saying nonsense to him. "It's not real. Not real." She had tears in her voice. He trembled against her. Katniss looked up and made eye contact with Gale.

Gale understood.

He shouldn't be watching this. This was their moment. He was pretty sure Peeta wouldn't want him witnessing one of his episodes. Peeta only shared them with Katniss.

Gale swallowed thickly and nodded at Katniss. She gave him a sad smile, still clutching Peeta towards her and motioned her head. She didn't want him knowing about these moments either.

Moving towards the door, Gale looked back at the couple upon him once more.

"You're ok. It was only a nightmare, sweetheart." She took a shaky breath before saying, "_I love you_." With that, Gale closed the door shut and headed home.

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_A/N: This popped into my head after a long drive home. It was bugging me the whole way and as soon as I got my hands on my laptop, I typed away. Thanks for reading. Reviews make me jumpy. :)_

_-Queen of Nargles_


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